Rooted BlackBerry PlayBook Shown Off On Video Showing Off Hulu

This keeps on getting better. It looks like the BlackBerry PlayBook root exploit we told you about before is real. The developers behind it, @xpvqs@cmwdotme@neuralic, have been hard at work hacking away at the BlackBerry PlayBook. Both Chris Wade and Neuralic have posted up videos showing off the exploit. See that screenshot above showing the UID 0? That means they have root (super user) access on the PlayBook. The first video shows the PlayBook root access from a PC and what that allows you to do. Supposedly that also allows you to load up Android Market on the Playbook OS 2.0 beta and directly install APK files without converting them into BAR files. In the second video Chris shows off Hulu working in the PlayBook browser which was most likely done by changing the user agent with root access.

So it looks like its real. Who is looking forward to when they release the Dingleberry PlayBook exploit to all? Neuralic said they should have an IRC room open soon so stay tuned! I am also very curious to see how RIM responds.

Does the phrase play with fire mean anything/fit this situation?
Obviously if RIM and Hulu wanted it in the first place no body would’ve resorted to such measures…
Btw, they don’t have an app for the playbook yet and why is a tablet any different than a netbook or the portable touch screen laptop/netbooks these days?
It’s such a fine line right now

I am really hoping RIM fixes the security vulnerability but I really want them to give devs more control on the platform. I really hate this concept they have going of limiting app installs to App World.

It’s another big blow for RIM…
The PlayBook, the professional grade tablet with a gaming tablet name, lots of games (and game builders/SDKs), no content encryption by default and that can be rooted… Not really what I expected from RIM’s first tablet.

How do you figure? Every phone platform and every tablet platform have been rooted. iOS, Android, heck, I use to hack (root) my Motorola Razr. It took 6 months longer here than it did on other platforms. RIM will grow up a little with this and their teams will fix vulnerabilities and move on.

Exactly, every platform, except Blackberry. I love hacking on Android, but I don’t trust those devices with the personal data I care about or company data.
I was hoping that RIM had come up with something as secure as their smartphones, but then they’re using AIR as a GUI layer… and we’ve already seen some holes on the PlayBook’s browser that RIM had to plug.